Pakistan refuses to release Osama bin Laden's doctor Shakil Afridi under US pressure

Pakistan has said that it would not release Dr Shakil Afridi, who helped CIA track slain Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to his hideout in Abbottabad in 2011, due to pressure from the United States.

Foreign Office FO spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam said the matter of Dr Afridi was sub judice, and it would not accept America's demand of Dr Afridi’s release in exchange of aid, Dawn News reports.

A bill recently signed by President Barack Obama proposed to withhold 33 million dollars from assistance to Pakistan on account of Dr Afridi's detention.

Afridi had worked for US intelligence by collecting DNA to confirm Osama’s identity by running a fake vaccination campaign in Abbottabad.

However, the doctor was convicted of treason under Pakistan's tribal justice system in 2012 for alleged ties to militants, and not for helping CIA.

He was initially sentenced to 33 years in jail, but a court in Peshawar overturned his sentence in August last year and ordered a retrial.